Religion and Belief

Now that the Supreme Court has ruled that the Constitution guarantees a right to same-sex marriage, advocates of equality for gays and lesbians hope to maintain the momentum by securing equal treatment in other areas, notably employment. As Rep. David Cicilline (D-R.I.) pithily put it in a Washington Post article: "You can be married on Saturday, post your pictures on Instagram on Sunday and fired from your job on Monday" if you don't live in a state or locality with a law against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. But the already tortuous path to that goal is complicated not only by continued resistance in Congress but by a dilemma facing supporters of...

Related "Religion and Belief" Articles

Now that the Supreme Court has ruled that the Constitution guarantees a right to same-sex marriage, advocates of equality for gays and lesbians hope to maintain the momentum by securing equal treatment in other areas, notably employment. As Rep. David...

Much-needed and long-overdue legislation that would allow terminally ill Californians to end their lives peacefully and painlessly got off to a promising start earlier this year, passing two Senate committees and winning approval on the Senate floor....

Bedeviled by drought, Great Plains settlers in the early 1890s developed a keen interest in rainmaking.
With funds appropriated by Congress, Gen. Robert St. George Dyrenforth set off gunpowder explosions in Texas under the theory that they could...

If you happen to pay extremely close attention to internecine debates within the LGBT community, you may know that not everyone lined up in favor of pursuing marriage equality at the federal level. Much of the debate over the last decade was about...

The slaying of a third secular blogger in as many months has set a chilling pattern in Bangladesh, a country long associated with a culture of moderation and free expression.
Machete-wielding assailants followed Ananta Bijoy Das on Tuesday morning when...

Pamela Geller, whose organization's Muhammad Art Exhibit and Cartoon Contest was attacked by two gunmen Sunday, has made offensive comments about Islam. But that in no way undermines her right to free speech or legitimizes violence against her or anyone...

After years of vitriol and sour relations, the Vatican and U.S. nuns announced they had developed a collaborative relationship and had engaged in conversations “marked by a spirit of prayer, love for the church, mutual respect and cooperation.”
Relations...

The Vatican ended its controversial takeover and investigation of U.S. nuns on Thursday, marking a quiet conclusion to a boisterous battle between the Holy See and the main umbrella group of American nuns.
A report noting the end of the Vatican’s...

A funeral service will be held for Crystal Cathedral founder Robert Schuller this month at the church his family made famous, a family representative said.
The service will be held April 20 at 10 a.m. at the Christ Cathedral in Garden Grove -- formerly...

After 14 months of bitter wrangling, Georgia’s legislative session ended with lawmakers failing to pass a contentious religious freedom bill.
The defeat comes after a nationwide furor over similar legislation in Indiana and Arkansas. Opponents argued...

On Wednesday, Gov. Asa Hutchinson of Arkansas declined to sign a Religious Freedom Restoration Act opposed by gay-rights groups and business leaders, including the CEO of Wal-Mart, suggesting instead that legislators recall or revise the bill. Earlier,...

A poster of Buddha wearing headphones, created to promote a bar and restaurant in Myanmar, has led to prison terms for the establishment’s owner and two employees, including a man from New Zealand.
A court in Yangon, Myanmar’s main commercial city, on...

Cheer up, secular parents: Despite the benefits often associated with being religious -- comfort in knowing there's an afterlife, easily accessible communities that can quickly come to our aid and more -- you can (and many of you do) raise smart,...

Speaking in Aramaic, Father Noel Gorgis is preaching to parishioners of St. Peter Chaldean Catholic Church at a Saturday night Mass.
Older parishioners are pleased that Gorgis celebrates Mass — and hears confessions — in Arabic and Aramaic, the ancient...

Isidora Ramos walks in just before sundown with a baby Jesus missing two fingers.
Her poodle, Gary, sneaked into the manger one night after Christmas, knocked over the cows and the sheep, and pounced on the newborn.
"Por favor," she tells...

The women sit on their knees, watching intently as a slightly sheepish sister in a pink head scarf crosses the beige floor and approaches the dais. After a moment, her jitters are gone and, in a booming voice, she recites the Islamic call to prayer.
In...

The Church of England took a historic leap toward modernity Monday by consecrating its first female bishop.The Rev. Libby Lane was ordained the bishop of Stockport during a packed ceremony that ended centuries of male-only leadership.More than 1,000...

The Times' front-page article Monday on Ryan Bell, a former Seventh-day Adventist minister nearing the end of his "year without God," prompted dozens of readers to ruminate on religion, spirituality, atheism and agnosticism. The handful of...

The billboard went up the other day, just in time for Christmas.
It rang in a different kind of cheer, from a group that insists the holidays have been hijacked by the heavens. The advertorial shows a picture of Earth from space, with the words:...

There are hundreds of magnificent cathedrals across Europe, so why do streams of visitors journey to a Madrid suburb to see an unfinished cathedral being built largely with discarded materials and without blueprints by an eccentric, elderly man?
My wife,...